Chicken Soup For Ember's Soul
by Tempest86
Summary: When Ember is sick with the ecto flu, she flees to the human world where she's unexpectedly cared for by her own enemy: Danny Phantom! [DannyEmber]


Based off of WingsOfMorphius' picture on DeviantART, titled "Chicken Soup..." (the rest of the title she couldn't fit). Anyways, as I was writing this, I thought that it could be set during the holidays, since it's that time of the year. So this is fanwork for Wings and a Christmas fic put together. Hope you like it!

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**Chicken Soup For Ember's Soul – Christmas style!**

The Ghost Zone: home to ghosts and other ectoplasmic entities. Ghosts here are usually sent here via the Fenton Ghost Portal by Amity Park's ghostly hero Danny Phantom, and go back to scheming for their next plan. Usually it's quiet, but today would be an exception in the case of one special ghost.

"Ah...ah...AAAHHH-CHOOOOO!"

Now it wasn't quiet anymore, as many ghosts heard the sound of the sneeze coming from the infamous Ember McLain. The fiery-haired ghostly rock diva floated aimlessly around the Ghost Zone, her violet guitar with greenish-blue flames strapped to her back. She kept smacking into the violet doors that each led to another ghost's own lair.

"Stupid flu..." she muttered angrily, putting a hand to her forehead. "Can't even see...where I'm...going...AH-CHOO!"

Ember was paler-looking than usual, with dark bags underneath her bloodshot emerald eyes. Bluish-green sweat ran down her face and neck, underneath her black choker. She suddenly felt another round of sneezes coming on, and failed to hold them back.

"Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"

As she continued let loose the violent outbursts, her fiery blue ponytail began to react very strongly and flared up whenever she sneezed.

Several ghosts, disturbed by the racket Ember was making, stormed furiously out of their violet doors.

"Take that flu somewhere else!" one ghost spat with venom. "We don't want to get sick!"

Ember turned to glare at the crowd of frustrated-looking ghosts and brought her guitar out, as if ready to fight.

"Then why don't you just get back in your nice, comfy lairs like good little ghosts, unless you want to get blasted?!" she yelled in a hoarse voice, her hair beginning to flare up again in response to her anger.

"We all know you're in no condition to fight, Ember-sweetie," Penelope Spectra announced, floating forward and stopping far away from Ember. "You'd barely last five seconds."

Ember coughed and continued to glare at the shadowy ghoul. She turned a dial on her guitar.

"Is that so?" she asked bitterly. "Well...take...THIS!"

As she spoke, she let loose a powerful shockwave that sent the other ghosts flying in different directions. Taking advantage of their fallen states, Ember made a break for it.

'_Gotta...get to the portal...'_ she thought tiredly. _'Gotta get...outta here...'_

Looking ahead of her, she spied the swirling green mass of ectoplasmic energy that was her ticket to freedom...

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the portal, Danny Fenton, a.k.a. Danny Phantom, was getting ready to shut down for the night. It had been a long day, having caught a record number of ghosts and shoving them back into the Ghost Zone. He glanced at the clock, which read 10:25 PM in bold red light.

"Jeez, what a night," he mumbled before yawning. "50 ghosts in seven hours really takes it out of you."

Danny's parents had gone to bed early and Jazz was still awake up in the kitchen. Jazz had scolded Danny for being out all night ghost-hunting, and Danny had been downstairs for the past 30 minutes just to get away from her.

"At least the night can't get any more exciting..." he said tiredly.

"_AH-CHOO!"_

Danny suddenly gasped as an icy-blue wisp streamed from his mouth. He turned to the still-open Ghost Portal in confusion. The sneeze had sounded distant, but very audible.

"I didn't know ghosts could sneeze," he said, scratching his head.

As he moved closer to the portal, he heard the sneeze again, followed by a long fit of coughing. This time, it sounded louder and closer. Danny grimaced.

"Whatever this is, it can't be good at this time of night."

As soon as he finished his statement, a pale-looking form floated out of the portal. It had fiery blue hair, was dressed in 80s-style clothing typical for a rocker, silver skull boots and, sure enough, carried a very familiar-looking violet guitar with greenish-blue flames. Fiery-blue hair in a ponytail was reacting weirdly. Danny frowned at who he saw standing in front of his family's portal.

"Ember?" he said out loud. "What are you doing here?"

The ghostly diva fixed her eyes on Danny, who was shocked to see them so...tired and bloodshot. She glared at him.

"Just my luck," she said in a raspy voice, surprising Danny again. "Getting away from all the other freaks to run into the biggest one of them all!"

Suddenly, she entered into another fit of coughing. Just then Danny noticed that bluish-green sweat was pouring down her face and neck, and her eyes had dark bags underneath them.

'_Is she...sick?'_ Danny thought. _'I didn't know that ghosts could get sick.'_

His thoughts then ended as Ember struck a cord on her guitar, releasing a small pink shockwave that sent Danny flying and hitting the wall next to the stairs. Grimacing in pain, he looked at her in shock.

"I have...no time to deal with you," Ember said in that raspy voice. "I'm outta here..."

Ember then took off, turning intangible as she phased through the ceiling of the lab. Danny stared after her, almost mesmerized. He then shook it off and climbed to his feet immediately.

"Going Ghost!" he cried.

Instantly, a bluish-white ring appeared around his waist. It then split into two rings, one going up Danny's body and the other going down. His normal t-shirt, jeans and sneakers turned into a black hazmat suit with white gloves, white boots, white belt and a white neck. A white symbol of a white "D" with an inverted "P" appeared on his chest. Finally, his jet-black hair changed into snow-white and his bright blue eyes became neon green.

"Danny, what's going on down there?!" Jazz yelled downstairs.

Ignoring her, the now-transformed Danny Phantom took off after Ember, turning intangible as well and phasing through the house and to outside the house. Danny felt the coldness of the December air blow against him. Ember just floated a few feet away from him, looking _very_ uneasy.

"Ember, what's wrong with you?" he asked in a concerned tone. "Usually, you're full of the snappy banter."

"It's...none of your business...dipstick!" Ember wheezed before coughing again.

'_At least she has enough strength to be able to call me by her favorite insult,'_ Danny thought grimly.

"Just...leave me...ALONE!" the ghost rocker cried hoarsely, letting loose another rift on her guitar.

Danny was too slow to dodge the blast and ended up getting knocked to the ground below. Jazz had just rushed out, carrying the Fenton Thermos.

"Danny, are you all right?" she asked in that caring-sister tone, kneeling down to help Danny up.

"I'm...fine," he answered. "It's Ember I'm worried about."

"Ember?" Jazz repeated, looking confused as she looked into the sky to see the fiery-haired ghost.

"She's not looking like she usually does. Not even acting in that dangerously playful way of hers."

"What are you –" Jazz began to say.

Suddenly, they heard Ember moan above them. They watched the diva put a hand to her head, and they saw her face contort in pain. Her form began to descend to the ground...very fast.

"She's falling!" Danny cried out, jumping into the air.

"Danny!" Jazz called after him.

As Ember fell, Danny closed in below her. He managed to catch her limp form and held her in his arms bridal style, with her head leaning on his right shoulder. Her guitar hung over her right side. She weakly lifted her gem-green eyes to look at Danny, who was looking at her the whole time with concern in his own green eyes.

'_He sure looks...handsome...'_ she thought distantly.

"Danny..." she whispered before losing consciousness.

Danny gently floated back down to the ground. Jazz came running as Danny transformed back into human mode, almost losing his grip on Ember. Jazz immediately grabbed Ember's legs as Danny kept his grip on her arms.

"We have to get her inside now!" Danny said in a panicked voice.

"We can't have her under our roof with Mom and Dad!" Jazz answered. "They'll be gunning for her when they realize a ghost is in our house, and a very dangerous one at that!"

"Jazz, she needs to get help now!" Danny shot back vehemently. "I'm not leaving her out here all alone. Now, help me get her back down to the lab so we can figure out what's wrong."

Jazz sighed impatiently as she helped her little brother carry Ember into the house. Christmas lights on the tree glowed in the darkness of the living room as Danny and Jazz went down to the lab. Down there, she laid the rocker on a table and Danny placed the guitar somewhere out of the way.

For the next half-hour, Danny was very tense as Jazz ran tests on Ember's system to find out what was wrong. Finally, Jazz had the results.

"She seems to have the ghost equivalent of the flu," she clarified. "An ecto-flu, to be more precise."

"Ecto-flu?" Danny echoed. "So ghosts _can_ get sick?"

"Apparently so, Danny. But all she needs is some rest and maybe some, I don't know, chicken soup?"

Danny picked up Ember's guitar and strapped it to his back.

"Can you go warm some up while I attempt to get her up to my room?" he asked, gathering Ember in his arms again.

As he lifted Ember, Danny almost lost his grip. Jazz rushed over to help.

"Danny, you don't have enough strength when you're not in ghost mode," she said sternly. "Let me help you."

"Fine. Let's just get her upstairs."

Carefully, the siblings carried the rock star up the stairs to Danny's room. Once in there, they laid her on the bed and Danny placed his blue blanket over her, pulling it up to her chin. Danny then put Ember's guitar underneath his bed and slumped against the wall. As Jazz was leaving the room, she turned back to Danny.

"Danny, are you sure you want her in here?" she asked. "I mean, she's one of your sworn enemies..."

"Jazz, if it's one thing I've learned about ghosts, it's this: not all of them are completely evil like my alternate future self or Pariah Dark," Danny answered strongly. "Some of them might've actually had human lives before becoming ghosts."

"That's very mature of you, Danny," Jazz said. "But don't get so caught up in that belief that you lose your focus."

"I won't, Jazz."

"I'll be back in about fifteen minutes with the soup."

As Jazz left the room, she watched Danny put a hand over Ember's forehead. Smiling to herself, knowing what was really happening in Danny's head, she went downstairs to fix the soup.

Danny held his hand to Ember's forehead, feeling the warmth of her skin as he made contact. Some bluish-green sweat made contact with his skin. Thoughts ran through his mind as he shook off the sweat from his hand.

'_Ghosts must get really warm when they get the flu,'_ he thought as he looked on Ember's sleeping form.

As he looked at her face, he realized something he'd never thought about before with her.

'_She looks so beautiful,'_ he thought. _'I wonder what she looked like as a human...'_

He leaned back against the wall as he tried to imagine Ember as a human. He could see her with her green eyes, and her usual make-up on her.

'_What color was her hair? Was it red, or was it black? I have no clue...'_

Danny just kept looking at Ember's face, admiring how peaceful and beautiful she looked as she slept. A few minutes passed, and Jazz walked into the room with a tray that had a steaming bowl of chicken soup on it with a silver spoon resting on the side. She set it on the bedside table next to Ember's head. As if in response to the smell of the soup, Ember turned her head towards it and smiled even while she still slept.

"Looks like she's already wanting some," Jazz said with a smile.

"Seems like it..." Danny replied distantly, lost in Ember's face.

He then felt Jazz's hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her questioningly. She had a knowing smile on her face.

"Danny, I know you care about her," she said.

Danny immediately blushed violently.

"_Jazz!_" he whispered in a panicked voice.

"It's very obvious from the way you look at her. I mean, you really do have an attraction to the strangest women."

"Yeah? Like who?"

"Paulina, the snobby and cheerleading prep girl who barely acknowledges your existence except when you're Danny Phantom," Jazz said, counting off on her fingers. "Valerie, the ghost hunter who likes you but hates your ghost half. And then there's Sam, whom you've dated briefly but never went any further with her."

Danny just sighed in response.

"All right, Jazz," he admitted. "So maybe I _do_ get paired up with the oddest women, but I don't like Ember that way."

"Once again, the way you look at her contradicts that. If you really like her, as in _really_ like her, you should probably let her know just to get it off your chest."

Danny was about to object, but Jazz interrupted him.

"You should take care of that soup, or it's going to get cold," she said, heading for the door. "Good night, Danny."

Once she was gone Danny looked back at Ember, who seemed to be smiling in response to the warm aroma from the chicken soup. Danny became thoughtful as he looked at the slumbering ghost.

'_Do I really like her?'_ he thought. _'She's one of my enemies, but she doesn't even look dangerous at times.'_

Running a hand through Ember's warm blue hair, Danny then proceeded to prop her up so he could feed her the soup. When he finished, he leaned against the wall. He felt his eyelids beginning to close as sleep threatened to overtake him. Looking one last time at Ember, he nodded his head and drifted off to dreamland...

* * *

In the darkness, Ember heard voices talking. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying or who the voices belonged to exactly, but she knew they were talking about her.

She sniffed the air and caught whiff of the mysterious aroma that now invaded her senses. She then felt warm liquid entering her mouth and going down her throat.

When it was over, she drifted back into her deep slumber...

When she woke up, she was surprised to be greeted by the sight of posters of rockets hanging on azure-blue walls.

"Whoa, where am I?" she asked the empty air, before clutching her throat in surprise.

She was shocked to hear her own clear and beautiful voice and not the throaty voice that had been her burden for the past day or so. She then noticed that she was underneath a blue blanket, and she slowly got up. Wrapping the blanket around her and locking her knees together, her emerald eyes were then greeted by a more shocking sight than when she woke up.

'_I'm in HIS room, but why?'_ she wondered. _'He had the chance to destroy me in my weakest state, and he brought me into his house and into his room? But...why?'_

Danny Fenton was slumped, with his left knee pointing at the ceiling, against the wall right beside his bed and next to the window. An empty bowl with a silver spoon in it rested next to him. Ember noticed the snow that fell outside and remembered distantly that it would be Christmas in a couple of days, and that the annual Ghost Christmas Party was tomorrow. She turned her attention back to Danny.

'_Even after all that we've been through, with fighting each other and insulting each other, he still would care for me like this?'_

Smiling slightly, Ember eased herself off of the bed and knelt down to Danny's level. She looked upon the sleeping face of her now-former enemy and smiled even wider.

'_I guess the dipstick isn't so bad after all...'_

Ember clasped her gloved right hand onto Danny's shoulder and touched his face with her ungloved left hand, stroking it gently against his warm skin. She leaned in close to his face...

Suddenly, Danny stirred. Ember, startled by his sudden movements, jumped back in surprise. His blue eyes fluttered open, blinking a few times before focusing on Ember, and they went wide.

Danny saw Ember, looking very healthy, sitting across from him on the floor. A blush was evident on her face as she looked back at him and then looked away.

'_Is she...blushing?'_ he thought. _'I've never seen a ghost blush, especially one as beautiful as her... Wait a minute, what am I thinking?'_

Shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts, he pushed himself up off the ground. As he looked at Ember, he noticed she was still blushing.

'_He's still looking at me!'_ she thought wildly. _'Does he know what I was about to do? This is so embarrassing...'_

"Feeling better?" Danny asked suddenly, snapping the ghost diva out of her thoughts.

Ember looked up at him with a hint of a smile on her face.

"Much better," she replied. "Thanks, dipstick."

Danny rolled his eyes, and crouched down to reach under his bed. He pulled out her guitar and held it out to her. She looked at him with confusion on her face.

"I guess...you should get back to the Ghost Zone," he stammered, with blush creeping onto his cheeks. "I mean, since you're feeling better and all..."

Ember reached out her left hand, but not to take her guitar. She touched Danny's face and caressed it gently like she had done when he was sleeping just minutes earlier.

Danny breathed cautiously, as if expecting something to happen. He half-closed his eyes as he began to enjoy Ember's soft touch. He looked up at her when he heard her start to speak.

"Why?" she asked, pulling her hand away.

"Why what?" Danny returned, confused.

"Why did...you help me? I mean, you had the opportunity to finally be rid of me and instead you take me into your house and..."

Ember's voice began to crack up as tears began to form in her eyes, slightly staining her make-up. Danny instinctively laid Ember's guitar on his bed. He then wiped the moisture away from her eyes and held her face with his own hand as he looked straight into her eyes.

"I...didn't want to leave you to suffer," he answered nervously. "It didn't feel right to leave you out there in the cold snow all alone."

As Ember struggled to form her next set of words, Danny saw pure innocence in her beautiful face. He almost felt his knees going weak just looking at her.

"But...you had the best opportunity to..." she stated hesitantly.

"I know you think I'd go ahead and destroy you without a second thought," Danny interrupted, his voice now stronger. "But like I've told Jazz, I've learned that some ghosts were once humans as well and probably did not expect to become what they are now. I've learned that not all are evil like Pariah Dark."

Ember's eyes widened at Danny's words. She smiled in that smug way Danny was used to seeing on her face.

"Since when did you get so mature, baby pop?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Blushing, Danny scratched the back of his head. He picked up Ember's guitar again and held it out for her. This time, Ember took it without a moment's hesitation. She smiled back at him gratefully, making him blush even more.

"I'll...uh...take you downstairs," he said bashfully.

Ember surprised him by linking her arm with his, and he looked at her weirdly.

"Let's go," she said simply.

Smiling, the two walked out of the door and down the stairs, with Ember still holding onto the blanket. Fortunately, neither Danny's parents nor Jazz had woken up yet, so Danny and Ember were in a safe zone for now.

Ember looked around at Danny's home, admiring all of the decorations that were on the tree and the walls. Looking up, she saw something that made her smile almost sinisterly. When they were at the right spot, Ember stopped. Danny, once again confused, stopped as well.

"Ember, why'd you stop?" he asked. "Is...something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she said innocently, with a wide smile on her face.

"Then...why are you smiling like that?"

"Look up."

"Look...up?"

"Yeah, just do it."

Danny, not wanting to get Ember ticked off at him, looked up. His eyes widened when he saw what was hanging above them.

Mistletoe.

His eyes still wide, he looked back at Ember who was still grinning like a child on Christmas morning.

"Kiss me, dipstick," she said suddenly.

Sweat running down his neck, Danny hesitantly leaned in close to Ember's face. Blushing, Ember leaned in as well.

The moment Danny's lips met with Ember's, they immediately closed their eyes and held each other's hands. The moment was pure bliss for both the halfa and the ghost rocker. When they pulled away, they both were blushing like tomatoes. Ember's hair, which had increased its size and intensity in response to Ember's action, returned to its normal size.

"Wow..." Danny breathed, touching his lips experimentally.

"Not bad for a dipstick..." Ember stated, touching her lips as well.

Smiling at each other, Danny held out his arm to Ember and she took it. They continued downstairs to the lab and they were soon standing in front of the Ghost Portal. An awkward silence was between them as they looked at each other.

"So, you're all better to go back in there?" Danny asked, breaking the silence.

Ember grinned confidently.

"Of course," she answered. "After all, it's Christmas Eve tomorrow and I have a party to attend."

"I almost forgot about that," Danny said. "I hope you have a good time."

Ember blushed as she looked at Danny square in the eye.

"Why don't you come to the party?" she asked. "It's going to be a blast with presents, food...and I'll be there with you, of course!"

Danny stared at her, baffled.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Ember McLain?" he asked with a smile, crossing his arms.

"That depends..." she answered. "Will you come?"

Danny just smiled at her, making her blush even more.

"I'd be glad to."

Excited, Ember threw the blanket she still held over Danny's head. Surprised, Danny struggled to get the blanket off of him. When he pulled it up off his head, he was greeted by Ember's violet lips touching his in another kiss. A minute passed, and she pulled away with a smile.

"See you tomorrow then...dipstick," she said with a laugh.

Still laughing, her fiery ponytail twirled around her. In a tornado of blue fire, Ember disappeared into the Ghost Zone.

Danny just stood there, staring into the portal. He smiled to himself.

"It's a date," he said out loud, closing the portal doors.

On the other side of the Ghost Portal, Ember stared back at the now-closed portal.

"See you tomorrow, baby pop," she said before vanishing into the infinite realms of the Ghost Zone.

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There it is! All done! Thanks again, Wings, for letting me write this. You did a great job on that picture on DeviantART. Anyways, Later! 


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